Enduring Spirit Honorees 2023
2023 Honorees
Congratulations to our 2023 Enduring Spirit Award honorees Mary Wilber (Osoyoos Indian Band), Jeri-Marie Bennett (Lummi/Suquamish/Duwamish), Teresa Iyall Williams (Coeur d’Alene) and Binah McCloud (Puyallup) were selected as the 2023 Enduring Spirit Honorees. For the first time, NAN selected a Rising Star Honoree: Alana Quintasket (Swinomish).
Mary Wilber | Smeech-Sta-Kaw-Kaw
Mary Wilber (Smeech-Sta-Kaw-Kaw) is a member of the Osoyoos Indian Band of Osoyoos, British Columbia in the Okanagan Valley. Mary has worked as the Eastside Native Education Title VI Program Director for 22+yrs for students in the Lake Washington, Bellevue, & Northshore school districts. She mentors, teaches, coaches, and advocates for over 245 Native students. Mary has served on the board for the National Indian Education Association for the past several years, volunteers as a CASA, as well as teaches kindergarten at her church. Mary is a previous recipient of the Adelaine Garcia award, recipient of the Eastside Civic Leadership Award, NIEA Educator of the year award, served on the board of Washington Native American Education Consortium, helped organize Native Tory Leadership Academy, & more
Jeri-Marie Bennett | Lummi/Suquamish/Duwamish
Jeri-Marie Bennett is a Lummi tribal member. She was raised in Puyallup, where she now resides. Jeri-Marie attended Bellevue College and the University of Washington. During her long involvement with the local Native American community, she has served as Program Manager at the Seattle Indian Center, co-creator of Life Quest, Volunteer Guardian Ad Litem for King County Juvenile Court is a founding member of the state’s Indian Child Welfare Coalition, President of the Ethnic Heritage Council of the Pacific Northwest, to name a few. She is currently writing about Indian boarding schools in Washington and Oregon.
Teresa Iyall Williams | Yo-Ski-Pei
Teresa Iyall Williams (Yo-Ski-Pei) is a Coeur d’Alene tribal member. She graduated from Western Washington University, majoring in English and Speech Communications and earned a teaching certificate. Teresa has taught a variety of topics at Chief Leschi Secondary School, Wa-He-Lut Indian School, Tracyton Elementary, at Tulalip Elementary and Cascade Elementary and at military instillations. Teresa received her master’s degree in Curriculum and Instruction from Lesley University, and Western Washington University with an administrative credential. Teresa’s work has been published in various journals and anthologies. Teresa retired in 2017, however, she stays up to date on her certifications, and serves on several local committees
Binah McCloud | Puyallup
Binah McCloud is a Puyallup tribal member. Her parents are Janet and Don McCloud. She has served at Chief Leschi Schools for over 25 years and has launched and developed its culture program and served multiple generations of students. She has represented the school and her tribe throughout her life, including internationally. Binah was actively involved in the work of PAV, Puyallup's Against Violence - a grass roots organization that fought the youth gang culture plaguing tribal youth. In her program she connected youth to their culture and used fundraising strategies to collect enough resources to send youth on countless experiences, showing them a future possible for themselves that they did not know existed. This was work done before the tribe had resources and led a generation of youth to a healthy active life
Alana Quintasket | Swinomish - Rising Star Award
Alana Quintasket (siwəlcəʔ) is a citizen of the Swinomish Indian Tribal Community and first-term senator for the governing body at Swinomish. Elected in 2020 at the age of 27, Senator Quintasket has been dedicated to learning and passing on the teachings of her ancestors since a young age. She is a fluent Lushootseed language speaker.
She studied Early Childhood and Family Studies and American Indian Studies (BA) at the University of Washington, and recently received her Master’s in American Indian Studies from Arizona State University.
